Research Update: A Systematic Review of the Relationship Between Eating Disorder Symptoms and Parental Socioeconomic...

Eating disorders (EDs) have long been viewed as disorders affecting higher socioeconomic groups, yet recent evidence shows they occur across all backgrounds. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the relationship between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and ED symptoms in adolescents in the general population. As a secondary aim, we will study how parental SES is measured in community-based studies and identify which SES indicators are most relevant for understanding adolescent ED risk.

A PRISMA search was carried out via Web of Science, Scopus, MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and ProQuest to identify quantitative studies examining the relationship between parental SES and adolescent ED symptoms in Western countries. The search produced 56,653 records, and 51 articles published from January 2000 onwards met inclusion criteria.

Parental education was the most used SES measure across the included studies (> 50%). Our meta-analysis revealed a significantly lower likelihood of ED symptoms in adolescents of parents with higher educational backgrounds (OR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.72-0.95, p = 0.007). Household income was generally negatively associated with ED symptoms in adolescents, particularly with binge eating behaviors. Findings related to SES indexes and other proxies were inconsistent.

Adolescents from lower education and lower income households are more likely to present with ED symptoms. Findings highlight the influence of socioeconomic disadvantage on ED presentations, underscoring the need for targeted prevention and intervention efforts that address socioeconomic disparities. Future research should incorporate multidimensional SES measures to better capture the complex nature of socioeconomic disadvantage.